Industry Update

With construction costs on the rise, it is that much more important to keep track of job costs for each project and phase. Knowing how much you have spent on previous jobs versus today will help you to provide accurate estimates to your customers. This will help you get the margins you are looking for without having to go back to the customers with changes in cost while the job is in process.

Costs Hang Over Construction Industry

“Prices for construction materials, which also include lumber and plastics, have been climbing because of demand from overseas and higher energy prices. And construction companies that might have absorbed price increases in the past are now passing those costs along to their commercial and residential customers.”

Complete Story  (Source: AP Biz Wire, 2/28/06)

Rising Costs Create a Barrier for Builders

“Spiraling construction costs are putting a squeeze on commercial builders. Since 2003, average prices for building materials alone have risen by almost 20 percent. At the same time, costs for land, labor, insurance and taxes are moving higher. But the rents that developers can charge for everything from office space to apartments are stuck in many markets. "The numbers are staggering on the increase of materials, but it doesn't flow through to rents in that same percentage," said developer Lucy Crow Billingsley.

Complete Story  (Source: Dallas Morning News, 2/24/06)

Upcoming Tradeshows

Comet Construction Software will have a booth at the 2006 Southern Building Show and Conference, June 8^th-10^th at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, GA. If you will be attending the event, please stop by and say hello.

Questions on available Add-on modules for your Comet Construction Software package? Stop by our booth for a demonstration of any Comet modules and/or a demonstration of the GTCO digitizer and QuikRuler system.

Upcoming Software Enhancements - Scheduled for June 2006

We are in the process of compiling the latest version of the Comet2005 software, which includes several enhancements requested by our existing clients and prospects. Below is a list of the major enhancements in this upcoming release:

PlyMart Interface - we are adding an interface into PlyMart's online invoicing system to automatically import invoices.

Document Generation -- ability to generate sworn statements, lien waivers and loan draw schedules for individual jobs.

Estimate Import/Export – ability to import or export a job estimate from a CSV (comma separated value) file. You can also export the Cost Phase Dictionary with this new utility.

Post Payments – we are replacing the old A/R Entry program with a new Post Payments program.  The new program provides complete validation and lookup capabilities to streamline the entry of payments and credits.

These are just a few of the many enhancements that will be included with this release.  The Release Notes provided with the software update will detail all of the enhancements in this version. We are excited about this new release and we know that these enhancements will save you time while helping with input accuracy. Existing clients with active Software Maintenance will be receiving the software update in June '06.

As always, if you have any suggestions for additional software enhancements, please contact us. We would love to hear from you.

Upcoming Company Holidays

We will be closed on the following days so that employees and their families can enjoy the holidays:           

  Good Friday                             April 14th

  Memorial Day                           May 29^th

              Independence Day                    July 3^rd and July 4th

  Labor Day                                September 4th

              Thanksgiving                            November 23^rd and November 24th

              Christmas Holidays                   December 23^rd through December 26^th

              New Year’s Holiday                  January 2nd

New Personnel

Brian Strickland

Brian started working with us in mid 2005, originally on a contractor basis.  He became so instrumental in technical enhancements within the software package that we brought him on full-time in January 2006. Brian resides with his family in the Cumming, Georgia area and is working on a lot of great new initiatives that will help to simplify processes for our customers. Brian brings years of technical experience with him and we are happy to have him on board. 

Michelle Kelly

Michelle started working with Comet in January 2006 and lives just a few minutes from the office, here in Buford, GA. Michelle has over 10 years of experience with Customer Service, including several years of experience with Technical support and Accounting. She will be handling all client check and envelope orders, as well as other technical services for our clients.

Welcome aboard!

Calling All Custom Home Builders and General Contractors

We have recently started reselling the GTCO brand of electronic digitizer products.  The GTCO Roll-up III Digitizer and QuikRuler III products are a complete measuring system for construction estimators, engineers, architects and surveyors.  QuikRuler III quickly and accurately automates blueprint takeoff and drawing measurement processes. 

It includes a measuring menu and an LCD display with a sophisticated, yet easy

to use built-in measuring program, which can be used with or without additional software. 

The QuikRuler III comes standard with plug-and-play drivers that allow you to use Microsoft Excel to create and manage your estimates and material take-offs.  It is compatible with most construction estimating software products on the market, and it also works well with our Comet2005 software. 

For additional information or to schedule a demonstration, contact Mike McDonnell at (770) 491-9303. See our web site for additional details.

New Clients - The following are some of the new clients that have recently joined the Comet family of users.  Welcome!

AZNorth Realty, Flagstaff, AZ   

Homes by Pete Adley, Kennesaw, GA

Ross Mundy Custom Homes, Covington, GA  

Sherr Development, Farmington Hills, MI  

Terry Castles Construction, Macon, GA               

Veritas Homes, Buford, GA

WIN A FREE MP3 PLAYER -- If you know of any companies that might benefit from the use of Comet software, please pass our name along.  If they buy our software based on a client referral, we’ll include your name in the quarterly drawing for a free MP3 Player!

Frequently Asked Questions

We often get asked…

Question…How do I reverse an expense that was posted to the wrong job or job phase?

Answer…You may have entered an invoice in Accounts Payable or Job Cost that was to the wrong job cost phase or to the wrong job, but the check has already been mailed or you simply do not want to void and re-enter the check.

Simply go to Job Cost and make a reversing entry using Source JC. Enter the Project/Job and Phase number of the job for which you want to reverse the cost and enter the amount as a negative amount. Then, make a positive entry to the correct Project/Job and Phase. If quantities are involved, enter the appropriate plus or minus quantities.

When making this entry, enter the General Ledger account as your 125 + job number for both entries (or your appropriate GL Acct#). There will not be a Credit General Ledger Account. You may also want to enter a comment about the reversal to explain why the entry is being made. These comments will be included on the Job To Date Detail Report.

F Note:  Since Job Cost Reports do not have debits and credits, you must enter a negative debit to reduce the cost of a Job  (note comments on bottom of screen).

This same JC Entry screen is used for posting Closing Statements and Allocation of Costs not entered through AP or PR. (i.e. equipment costs).

 Example of Job Cost Correcting Entry:

Warranty Management / Purchase Order Add-On Modules

If you are not currently utilizing Comet for your Warranty Management and/or Purchase Order needs, please call us today to find out how these modules can simplify your current process, saving you time and money. Both modules can be added on to your current license agreement and you can be up and running in no time. Each add-on can be purchased individually or you can bundle them both into your current software package.

Warranty Management Software

o        Track client details, including multiple contacts and phone numbers.

o        Track unlimited warranty or punch list items per job.

o        Assign unlimited work items to any subcontractor or employee.

o        Generate a detailed work item schedule based on requested work dates.

o        Work orders can be printed, faxed or emailed.

o        Detailed analysis to track length of time from reported date to date of completion for assigned work.

o        Detailed charge-back report showing totals of time and costs spent.

Purchase Order (PO) Software

o        User defined price book of materials and labor costs

o        Over 30 different PO reports

o        Reporting by job, project, supplier/subcontractor and date range

o        Automatically catches overcharges

o        Quickly copy PO's from one job to another

Call us today for pricing or to schedule a demonstration!

Need Training on the Software?

If you or your operators are in need of training on your Comet software, call us to schedule a session.  Our training is available at the affordable rate of $50 per hour.  We will tailor the session to meet your specific needs, whether that’s a complete module training class or instruction on certain tasks within the software with which you need additional assistance.  We are here to help you get the most out of your software investment.

Technical Tip

If you don’t already have a clear back-up plan in place for your financial data files, make it one of your New Year’s Resolutions to set this up as soon as possible. You never know when the unexpected may happen and without frequent back-ups, large amounts of financial data can be lost in an instant.

It only takes a few minutes to back-up your data, so start today. Simply Select File / Backup from the toolbar and follow the prompts. If you have any questions on this process or if you are encountering any difficulty while backing up, please call us. We are here to help! 

1705 Enterprise Drive, Suite B • Buford, Georgia 30518 • Phone (770) 491-9303 • Fax (770) 491-0039

Toll Free (800) 726-0586 • www.cometconstructionsoftware.com

Sales: sales@cometconstructionsoftware.com / Support: support@cometconstructionsoftware.com

Comet News is published quarterly by Comet Construction Software.

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